The present invention relates to a recording and reproducing apparatus capable of receiving, recording, and reproducing broadcast content and a reproduction processing method thereof.
Recording apparatus for recording broadcast content (programs and the like) have recently been developed, such as video recorders using a recording medium such as an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) or the like.
Various processes for recording television broadcasts and the like have been proposed as techniques applicable to these apparatus to enhance ease of operation and convenience of users, such as, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-152639. Apparatus are known which include a plurality of tuners as broadcast reception processing means, as described particularly in this Japanese patent document.
These apparatus for broadcast receiving/recording purposes include a plurality of tuners for receiving television broadcasts, for example, thereby realizing a function of recording a program while another program is viewed.
In addition, apparatus capable of performing two or more recording processes simultaneously have recently been developed.
An apparatus using an HDD as a recording medium, for example, can simultaneously record a plurality of broadcast content by a time division process or the like using one HDD when the apparatus has two tuners and two circuit systems for performing encoding for recording. The same is, of course, true for apparatus having a plurality of HDDs, apparatus having an HDD and a DVD drive unit, and the like.
Generally, in a receiving/recording apparatus having a plurality of tuners, one tuner (a recording tuner) is used for recording according to programmed recording, for example, and another tuner (a tuner used for real-time live viewing, which will hereinafter be referred to as a “live viewing tuner”) is used for viewing according to a channel operation by a user.
Further, a receiving/recording apparatus capable of simultaneously recording broadcast content obtained by multiple tuners can simultaneously record a program received by a recording tuner and a program received by a live viewing tuner. Thus, the broadcast content received by the live viewing tuner according to channel operations by a user and output to a display for viewing are recorded simultaneously with the broadcast content received by the recording tuner.
This state is shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E.
FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C show states of output and recording of broadcast content received by the live viewing tuner. FIGS. 1D and 1E show states of recording of broadcast content received by the recording tuner.
Suppose that, as shown in FIGS. 1D and 1E, the recording tuner performs recording of the broadcast content on Channel 1 (the channel of a broadcasting station will hereinafter be described as “ch”) from a time t0 according to programmed recording or a user operation. That is, the selected channel of the recording tuner is ch1 and the recording tuner demodulates the broadcast content on ch1. The broadcast content is subjected to predetermined encoding for a recording process, and is then supplied to a recording unit, such as, for example, an HDD. That is, broadcast video on ch1 is recorded.
Meanwhile, the live viewing tuner performs reception and demodulation processing in response to a channel operation of the user. Video of a broadcast content obtained by the live viewing tuner is output to the display for viewing by the user, and is also recorded onto the HDD, for example. Incidentally, the recording of the video being viewed will be referred to as “live recording” for the sake of description to be differentiated from recording using the recording tuner. Recording using the recording tuner will be referred to as “normal recording.”
As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, when the user performs an operation to select ch10 at the time t0, for example, video on ch10 is recorded as a live recording, and the live video on ch10 is displayed as output video on the display for viewing by the user.
When the user performs an operation to change to ch4 at a time t1, video on ch4 is recorded as a live recording from the time t1, and the live video on ch4 is displayed as output video on the display from the time t1. Further, when the user performs an operation to change to ch1 at a time t2, video on ch1 is recorded as a live recording from the time t2, and the live video on ch1 is displayed as output video on the display from the time t2.
Such an apparatus, which performs live recording while live video is viewed, can reproduce the live recorded video when the user performs a reproduction-related operation. Incidentally, the reproduction-related operation refers to an operation related to a state of display of video reproduced from the recording medium on the display, such as, for example, program start search, fast forward, rewind or other searches, normal reproduction, and varied speed reproduction.
For example, when the user performs a rewind operation at a certain point within the period from t1 to t2 during which period the live viewing tuner receives ch4, video reproduced from the live recording of broadcast content on ch4 can be displayed on the display 12 in place of the live video on ch4. It is thereby possible to again view an immediately preceding scene in a program being viewed, for example.
Live recording is started only in response to a channel operation. Specifically, when a program on a certain channel is viewed, video from the time when a change to that channel was made has been recorded live, and the video from that time can be reproduced arbitrarily.
For example, when the user performs a program start search operation at a time t3 at which a program on ch1 is being viewed, a file recorded live from the time t2 (for example, a content file currently being recorded on the HDD) is reproduced. Since the start of the file is to be reproduced by the program start search operation, the video from the time t2 is reproduced.
Thus, as shown in FIG. 1C, the program start search operation at the time t3 changes video displayed on the display from the video at the time t3 of the program on ch1 to the live recorded video from the time t2 of the program on ch1.
Suppose in this case that, as shown in FIGS. 1D and 1E, the program on ch1, which is started at the time t0, is recorded as a normal recording using the recording tuner. That is, suppose that the user is viewing the program recorded from the time t0 live from the time t2, which is an intermediate point in the program. In this case, the user often desires to view the program from the start (that is, from program content at the time t0) rather than from the intermediate point.
Even when the user thus intends to view the program from the start by changing from live viewing to reproduction viewing, the live recorded file as described above is reproduced by the program start search operation. The user is therefore able to view only program content from the time t2.
As described above, when a reproduction-related operation is performed during live viewing, the apparatus recognizes the reproduction-related operation as an operation on the video file recorded live during the live viewing, and performs reproduction processing on the live recorded video, because it is generally considered suitable for use by the user. In other words, when the user desires to view an immediately preceding scene in the program being viewed live, for example, requiring the user to perform a complex menu operation or mode operation or the like to view the live recorded video will greatly degrade ease of operation.
Thus, reproduction processing on the live recorded file is performed in response to the reproduction-related operation during the live viewing. However, as described above, it then becomes impossible to view reproduced video from the start of the program on ch1, for example, by the reproduction-related operation during the live viewing even when the program is recorded from the start by normal recording using the recording tuner.
For example, when the user starts viewing a desired program at an intermediate point thereof but decides to view the program from the start since the program is recorded, it is very desirable that video from the start of the program be reproduced with a single program start search operation. However, such reproduction processing is not performed.
Of course, broadcast content recorded (or being recorded) on the recording tuner side can be reproduced in response to a user operation.
For example, by calling up a screen of a list of titles recorded (or being recorded) by a menu operation, selecting a title currently being received and recorded on the recording tuner side (the file of the recorded video on ch1, the normal recording of which is started at the time t0), and performing a reproducing operation, it is possible for the user to view reproduced video from the start of the desired program in the above case. However, such operations are complicated and troublesome, and are therefore not desirable to the user.
In summary, it is desirable considering ease of operation of the user that an apparatus simultaneously performing normal recording using the recording tuner and live recording of a program on a channel being viewed recognize a reproduction-related operation during viewing as an operation on a file being recorded live at that point in time, and accordingly perform reproduction processing. However, when the normal recording using the recording tuner and the live recording of the program on the channel being viewed are performed on the same channel, reproduction processing performed on the live recorded file in response to a reproduction-related operation may not be desirable to the user.